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College football coaches continue to make high salaries

Alabama head coach Nick Saban is the highest paid college football coach in the nation, making $5.4 million a season. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

A study of the contracts of college football coaches found that 42 of them make at least $2 million a season, continuing a tread of increasing salaries across the sport, reports USA Today.

The average annual salary for head coaches at major colleges in the Football Bowl Subdivision is $1.64 million. That is a 12% increase over last season and more than a 70% jump since 2006.

"Part of my philosophy was, I've got this money that was due me, and I don't need it," Swinney says. "I make plenty of money," said Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney. "Why can't I choose to invest some of that money in what we're trying to do as a program?"

Alabama's Nick Saban is the highest paid at $5.5 million, and he is one of four Southeastern Conference coaches among the top eight. Texas head coach Mack Brown, of the Big 12, is the second-highest, pulling in $5.4 million.

One of Swinney's assistants, Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris, is the nation's highest paid assistant at a public school. Morris makes $1.3 million a season. According to USA Today, the lowest paid head coach is Louisiana-Monroe's Todd Berry, who is set to make $250,000 in total pay this season.